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WORLD & NATION
MARCH 28, 2014
‘War on pollution’ hopes
to reclaim Chinese skies
BY ALLISON STALBERG
Staff Writer
Imagine every breath you take being a hazard to your
health. Picture rarely seeing the blue sky because it is blocked
by a doud of pollution hovering over your dty every day.
China has been struggling with pollution for years.
This year on March 5, Premier Li Keqiang began the annual
Chinese Parliament meeting with a "dedaration of war" on
pollution.
"We wiU dedare war against pollution and fight it with the
same determination we battled poverty," said li during a State
of the Union style address, according to The New York Times.
"Pollution started when (reformist leader) Deng Xiaoping
laxmched the economic reform in 1979," said George Guo,
professor of political sdence.
Others in China agreed with Guo.
"The pollution problem started over 20 years ago," said
Fred Engst, professor at the University of International
Business and Economics in Beijing, in an email interview with
The Guilfordian. "As China is becoming more mdustrialized,
the pollution problem is worsening."
Former resident of Beijing Ann Tompkins taught in the
nation's capital from 1965-1970 and continues to visit China.
She recced pollution being an issue in the 1960s.
"People used small stoves for their cooking and heating,"
Tompkins said in an email interview with The Guilfordian.
"These stoves used coal cakes made to fit into the stoves. That
meant that, every winter especially, a great deal of pollution
could be seen hanging over Beijing.
"On the other hand, there were impressive recycling,
reusing and reducing practices," said Tompkins. "Animal
manure was collected off the streets, and human waste was
also treated and used as fertilizer. AU old metal, doth and
paper... everything was collected and put to another use. My
favorite was learning that the padded dothing we wore in
winter was recyded into toilet paper."
These eco-friendly methods, however, could not stop China
from becoming one of the world's most polluted countries.
'The pollution aggravates our respiratory illnesses,
prolonging the time it takes to recover from colds," said Engst.
Smog in the dties forces many dtizens to wear protective
masks. For others, pollution is a reason to leave China.
"More people are leaving China because of the pollution,
and multinationals are having a harder time getting people to
take on assignments m China," said Jerd Bonner, a dtizen of
Shanghai, in an email interview with The Guilfordian.
Many agree that government offidals have consistently
attempted to curb pollution.
"China has issued many rules and regulations to reduce
pollution since the 1980s," said Guo. 'The government
has made the effort to cut emissions from its power plants,
fadories and cars."
However, another difficulty arises from the government's
vested interests in the industries causing pollution.
"Steel plants, for example, are one of the main sources of
pollution and are also the main source for local government
revenue," said Engst.
'The plant owners often bribe inspectors and make their
pollution control devices work only during the daytime when
people can see smoke (rising) from their factories," said Engst.
"But during the night, the devices tend to be turned off in
order to save money.
"So, during the day, we see white smoke, and in the night,
the smoke is black."
Where, then, lies hope for a cleaner future in China?
'To solve the pollution problem, there has to be a consensus,"
said Engst. 'To bring about the consensus, (the problem) has
to be really bad, making everyone realize the severity of the
problem. That's the way Western coimtries learned to take
pollution seriously earlier."
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On March 2, students marched to protest the building of the Keystone XL pipeline.The project poses serious environmental threats.
Keystone Pipeline protests on
The pollution provides protections against UV rays and sunburn.
BY NICOLE ZELNIKER
Staff Writer
On March 2, thousands of
students gathered on the streets of
Washington, D.C. in what is said
to have been the largest student
protest since the ’Wetnam War.
They marched in dissent of the
construction of the Keystone XL
pipeline.
'Three phases have already
been completed," said junior
and Guilford College Democrats
President Josh Weil. "We're
protesting the fourth phase: the
pipeline actually being built."
Students voiced concerns
about the fact that more fossil
fuels are generated by the oil in
the Keystone Pipeline System than
by oil produced in the U.S.
'The company that wants to
build the Keystone has a very poor
environmental reputation," said
sophomore and Sustainability
Committee head Lily Collins.
"We want to stop the building of
fossil fuel infrastructure due to the
carbon that's released from fossil
fuels."
Many believe that the
construction will affect everyone
from bird and reptile species to
human beings.
'The potential for destroying
wetland areas and major aquifers
is really high," said Allison
Bressler, intern at Sierra Qub's
Beyond Oil Campaign, in a phone
interview wdth The Guilforcfian.
'Tar sands emit about three times
the gases as conventional oil," said
protest organizer Nicholas Stracco
to The Guilfordian. "It erodes
oil pipelines, (and) we have no
proven way to clean it up."
During the protest, 372 people
were arrested after voluntarily
zip-tying their arms to the fence in
front of the White House.
"At first it was exdting, then
the weather turned cold," said
Warren Wilson College first-year
Christopher Feidler-Cree in
an email interview with The
Guilfordian. "Our spirits were
not diminished and rounds
of chanting broke out often.
There was an amazing sense of
community."
Cheering from the crowd
remained consistent from 10 a.m.
to the last arrest at 7 p.m.
"When the policeman placed
handcuffs on one of us, the
rhythmic chant of, 'We love
you! We love you! We love you!'
roared from the crowd," said
Warren Wilson sophomore and
protest organizer Jamie DeMarco
in an email interview with The
Guilfordian. "It was hard to feel
anything but inspired."
Students were inspired by the
fact that this was a youtii-led
protest.
'This is our future we are
talking about, and I think it is
important to be informed about
issues like these that can directly
affect us," said first-year Davia
Young.
Alfi\ough no Guilford students
were arrested during the protests,
they showed support of the
protesters who were.
"It's hard to watch these people
who care so much about tJiis
cause that they are willing to be
arrested," said Weil. 'They're
wiUing to sacrifice their futures."
First-year Devon Murphy-
Anderson believes that the protest
symbolized her generaHon's high-
mindedness.
"The protest (won't) stop
Obama from signing the
bill enabling construction of
the fourth installment of the
Keystone pipeline," said Murphy-
Anderson. "This protest was
about showing America that our
generation is listening and that
we care about our earth and our
future."
DeMarco is more hopeful of the
results.
"We sent the message, 'No
Keystone XL pipeHne,' as loudly
as we could," said DeMarco.
"President Obama has heard us,
and now the question is: will he
listen?"
Students must remember,
however, that the power to
construct the pipeline does not
rest solely with Obama.
"It's not like the president can
just snap his fingers and shut it
down," said Weil. 'There are a
lot of working parts. Although
Obama is a major factor, there
are many people at play that also
need to be moved into making the
right decision."